NEWS’ VIEW: DeLauro for Congress

The News endorses Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro for the U.S. House of Representatives in Connecticut’s 3rd District.

Born and raised in New Haven, DeLauro, a Democrat, has served as our District 3 congressional representative since 1991. During that time — from her pre-election post as the executive director of EMILY’s List to her role in founding Congress’ Progressive Caucus — she has proved herself a competent leader driven by her firmly held values.

Indeed, DeLauro, one of the most liberal members of the House, may prove too liberal for some. Yet the policy positions she advocates stand in stark contrast to those of her opponent, Wayne Winsley. Though Winsley lacks extensive political experience — his campaign website instead points to a breadth of life experiences, from his experiences serving in the Navy to leading the Danbury NAACP — it is his policies, not his pedigree, that should alarm us.

Whereas DeLauro would seek to expand access to reproductive health services and further marriage equality, Winsley’s platform speaks directly to his duty to religion in Tea Party-esque terms. Whereas DeLauro understands the importance of stimulus in saving a stagnating economy, Winsley speaks of both reducing taxes and reducing spending in near-meaningless platitudes.

Moreover, DeLauro has over 20 years of legislative record to stand by, while Winsley’s “Action Plan” reads as a checklist of conservative buzzwords with little-to-no explanation behind them. Without the resume of a political career to stand on, Winsley needed to articulate policy suggestions to convince voters he has an understanding of the political arena to match DeLauro’s 21 years. With no mention of specific plans — or even responses to specific bills already proposed in the House — Winsley’s platform has done little to convince us that his vision extends beyond his campaign.

It should be noted that DeLauro is not without her flaws. Her engagement with the student body pales in comparison to Senate candidate Chris Murphy’s efforts to engage with campus. Though failure to engage with Yalies is not specifically a fault, our campus contains thousands of registered Connecticut voters, and we fear DeLauro’s failure to campaign here speaks to a lack of engagement with constituents.

In an increasingly partisan House, a vote for DeLauro might be one for further partisanship. But her demonstrated interests, although far left, ultimately align more closely with our values than Winsley’s empty rhetoric.